Weaving Palm Leaves – Fakarava, French Polynesia

Always Something Beautiful to Discover

A little trip over to French Polynesia on the island of Fakarava – a Unesco Bio-sphere Reserve – famous for its shark wall that the divers love to see. But how many of you really know what goes into to create the thatched roofs so famous here in the South Pacific?

I created this video using the new Pearl App for iphone with photos I took there. When I was visiting the island, I learned how to braid/weave the palm leaves to create the panels used on the rooftops of the traditional bungalows. First the palm leaves are soaked over night in the seawater to make them more malleable. The palm frond is cut in two, and each half is braided, and then left out to dry. The salt impregnated in the leaf is a natural insecticide.

Such a beautiful country and island, so resourceful in this creation.

There is an French version and a English Version – which one you do like better?